Welsh Family History - A Guide to Research

1993/1994

The gap in the Wales section of genealogy collections can now be filled with this authoritative handbook. Rowlands (Univ. of Wales) chaired a panel of 21 qualified authors in the preparation of this volume, which catalogs all the data sources in Wales and treats that nation's social, cultural, religious, and linguistic background. The book offers three chapters of special interest to American researchers. The first is on the surnames of Wales, a morass to anyone not versed in the way Welsh names have developed. The second is a short course in basic Welsh language giving valuable instructions for reading old Welsh manuscripts. Finally, there is a nugget on the International Genealogical Index (IGI) for Wales compiled by the Latter-day Saints-one of the researcher's most important tools for most countries. This chapter explains how to avoid trouble when using the IGI. Highly recommended, this book is essential for family history collections...